The win puts the defending District 5 Class AA champions back in the title game Saturday at UPJ’s Sports Center against Tussey Mountain, which defeated Chestnut Ridge 59-24 Wednesday.

The No. 2-seeded Cougars (20-4) led throughout the game until Conemaugh Township’s Josh Burns hit a bucket with 1:54 remaining in the third quarter to give his team a 39-38 lead.

Grant Speigle made it 41-38 before North Star’s Tony Strasiser hauled in an offensive rebound and put back a shot to make it 41-40 to start the fourth quarter.

Burns put the No. 3-seeded Indians (17-7) up 43-40 before Fleegle took over. He scored 15 of his game-high 27 points in the final quarter. He tied the game at 43 on a three-point play with 7:23 left and then gave the Cougars a 45-43 lead, which they never relinquished.

“We’ve been in tough games before and know what to expect from ourselves,” Fleegle said. “How we were playing wasn’t what we can do, so I called the team together and said, ‘Let’s go play some basketball,’ and we went out and finished the game. I didn’t want to finish my career out yet, so I was just hustling for every ball on every play.

“We know all those guys and it means a bit more to beat a team like Conemaugh Township. It’s such a big rivalry. We have grown up playing against each other.”

Conemaugh Township head coach Chuck Lesko added, “Jake is a quality basketball player and we have so much respect for him as a student-athlete. He’s a big-time player. Big-time players step up in big-time moments. He did that tonight.

“I’m very proud of this group for a lot of things they endured this season. We make no excuses. We weren’t the healthiest of teams tonight and we battled as hard as we could. We hope these playoff games give the guys a hunger for more and they develop a work ethic in the offseason that will take them to the next level.”

North Star scored off the opening tip and held a 17-7 lead after one quarter. Sophomore Dillon Boyer scored six of the Indians’ seven points and had 15 of his team’s 21 points at the half. He finished with 21 points.

The Cougars led by as many as 10 points before holding a 26-21 advantage at the break.

Grant Speigle, who was limited to five first-half points by Strasiser’s defense, brought his team back in the second half. He scored 11 of his 21 points in the third quarter, including pulling his team to within two points with 3 minutes remaining.

“Tony did a good job on him,” North Star head coach Jack Loya said. “We played man defense most of the game and you can’t always play right up on a guy. Jake offered to switch with him for a bit after Speigle hit a few because Tony was getting a little tired. That allowed Tony to help us out rebounding.”

Strasiser finished with 16 points, four rebounds — 3 offensive, four assists and two blocks.

North Star is playing in it’s fourth consecutive district championship. The Cougars were runners-up twice before defeating Chestnut Ridge last year for the title.